From Transdisciplinarity to Transdisciplinary Research

Scholars promote various definitions and concepts of transdisciplinarity in the current
dialogue. The concepts can be described as alternative combinations of four characteristic
features of transdisciplinarity, namely (a) to relate to socially relevant issues, (b) to
transcend and integrate disciplinary paradigms, (c) to do participatory research, and (d)
to search for a unity of knowledge. The meaning of transdisciplinarity in the German-European
environmental and sustainability research shifted during the last decades, making
feature (c) – to do participatory research – its major component. Against that background,
td-net has developed and promoted a concept of transdisciplinary research that includes
additional features. Formulated from the perspective of transdisciplinary researchers, our
concept endeavors to frame, analyze, and process a socially relevant issue in such a way
that the research project (1) grasps the complexity of the issue, (2) takes the diverse perspectives
on the issue into account, (3) links abstract and case-specific knowledge, and (4)
develops knowledge and practices that promote what is perceived to be the common good.